


Northern Lights

by MikiNee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, First Meetings, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, hux works at a gas station
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 23:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14413209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikiNee/pseuds/MikiNee
Summary: Armitage Hux wants desperately to leave the small town of Bleak Lake, Minnesota. Kylo Ren is the mysterious stranger that just moved in next to him. Hux wants desperately to just skip town with Kylo, but something keeps holding them back. Can Hux and Kylo let go of the past and find a home for the two of them?





	Northern Lights

Armitage prepared what seemed to be his millionth black coffee of the day, slowly stirring the watery mess in clean circles to cool it off. He blew on the coffee lightly, being careful not to spill any onto the countertop. 

He looked out the window next to his register, watching the first snow of the season drift down to the concrete, refusing to stick. Each flake melted on contact, which made Armitage breathe a sigh of relief. Winter was threatening to come in the middle of October, but it was only an empty threat. Northern Minnesota was known for its long, grueling winters, and the last thing Armitage wanted was one that began much too early. Especially since he worked at a gas station. If winter began early, business would be atrocious. Not that it was great outside of summer anyways. Cabin-goers made up for most of their customers, and no one went up to their cabins in the winter. 

Armitage’s train of thought was thrown off course by the telltale ring of someone entering the convenience store. His head spun to find a dark haired man, wearing clothes that certainly didn’t fit the cooler outdoors. Cargo shorts and a black Hozier concert t-shirt, with an olive green army jacket. Despite his obvious affinity for all things hipster, Armitage couldn’t tell what he was doing in a gas station in the middle of nowhere. 

“Could I get a pack of Marlboro’s, and...” The man leaned over the countertop, exposing an empty cigarette pack in the breast pocket of his jacket. “Would you be able to tell me what kind of food is good up here? I’m new in town, and I have no clue what some of this shit is.”

Armitage suppressed a laugh at how blunt the man was being. “Yeah, sure. You talking snack foods or restaurants? Because there’s not many restaurants around here.”

The man knit his eyebrows. “Honestly, either. I’m fuckin’ starving.”

“There’s a place down the highway around... Fifteen minutes. Just go to the right out of here and you’ll see a place called Ron’s. It’s a bar, but the burgers there are killer. As for beer, I would get something from Cuyuna. It’s a local brewery. And-” Armitage went underneath the counter to grab a pack of cigarettes, then placed it on the counter, sliding it towards the dark haired man. “I wouldn’t smoke these outside of your place, really. We’re pretty close to the rez here, and you might get some looks from the Anishinaabe.”

The man looked confused, but nodded. “Thanks...” He looked down to Armitage’s name tag. “Armi-Ar-my... Tag...”

“Armitage.”

“Yeah. Uh, sorry.”

“You’re fine. If you need anything else, I’ll be here all night, uh...”

“Kylo. The name’s Kylo.”

Armitage tilted his head quizzically. “Your name isn’t any better than mine, is it?”

“Where the hell did that ‘Minnesota Nice’ go?” Kylo raised his eyebrows.

“You mean ‘Minnesota Passive-Aggression.’ Just because you saw Fargo doesn’t mean you know the region.”

Kylo rolled his eyes and slapped a ten dollar bill on the counter. “I still need to buy the smokes, don’t I?” 

Armitage rung up the cigarette with ease. “You want a bag for those?”

“Nah, I’m fine. Thanks again, Armitage.” 

Kylo left, and the bell rang again as he exited. Armitage watched him go, seeing Kylo’s body shiver at the barely freezing temperature. It was funny seeing an outsider try to face such an average cold for that time of year. 

It was weird seeing what Kylo had driven there, though. It was a large RV, but no one sat by the windows or anything. It was just Kylo. Armitage’s mind began to wander. Maybe he was moving into one of the trailer parks around town. But why? He didn’t look at all like any of the other residents. Armitage knew everyone there was to know in Bleak Lake, Minnesota. And there wasn’t a lot to know. 

Armitage looked back down to his coffee from earlier, having forgotten about it completely.  _ Shit, _ he thought to himself, taking a swig of the lukewarm coffee, finding bits of coffee grounds grazing his tongue. Disgusted, Hux spit the coffee back into the cup. He poured the rest down the grate in the coffee maker’s bottom and chucked the foam cup into the trash. 

 

“Fuckin’ nasty.” He opened up the fridge and grabbed a peach Snapple, and a bag of Takis off of the counter. Armitage was awful with spicy food, but the heat helped center him when work got too boring. 

 

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his Instagram feed, seeing how his old friends from college were spending their time. Phasma, his best friend, was off travelling the United States, working with different art museums and promoting her exhibitions. It made Armitage a bit sad, seeing as his comic arts degree was being used as a coaster in a broken-down trailer. They both always said they would get out of Bleak Lake, but only one of them ever did.

 

Hux tried to combat the spicy chips with some Snapple, but the burn of the Takis remained. His fingers were bright red, and his tongue’s color matched. He exited out of Instagram, instead going to Netflix to binge watch an obscure foreign sci-fi show. Time passed by, and no one came into the gas station for quite some time. It was a nice time to unwind and ignore everything around him. 

 

The bell rang again, and Kylo re-entered, still wearing his cargo shorts that really did not fit the weather. His teeth chattered, and his legs bore a variety of goosebumps. It was like he had never seen anything below fifty degrees. In his hands, he had a white styrofoam box, probably from a restaurant. 

 

“I got you one of those burgers. Don’t know what you like, so I hope you like their basic burger.”

 

Armitage was taken aback. “You didn’t have to do that.”

 

“Really. It’s my treat.” Kylo set the box on the counter and slid it over to Armitage, who paused his show. 

 

“For real. You didn’t have to. It’s your burger.”

 

“No, I had my burger. I bought this one for you.”

 

Armitage’s face flushed bright red. No one had ever made such a gesture to him. It was nice, but equally embarrassing. “Th-thanks.” He opened up the box and found his favorite burger, with a side of fries. It was almost scary how well Kylo did with picking out his meal. On the inside of the top was a phone number written out, obviously from out of the area. In parentheses, Kylo also wrote “call me,” appearing horribly desperate.

 

“Hey, where the hell is 602?” Armitage said as he analyzed the number, ignoring Kylo’s attempt at flirting.

 

“Arizona. Why?”

 

“No reason.” Armitage popped a fry into his mouth. He was curious as to why someone would move from the desert to the icy wasteland that was Minnesota, but he didn’t feel the need to press further. “

 

“Well, I should probably head out, Armitage. I bid you adieu.” Kylo winked, overly confident in himself, and strided out of the door for the second time that day. 

 

Armitage found himself still flustered after Kylo left. His heart raced, but it was weird. He knew he was into guys, but he never expected there to be anyone else in a 50 mile radius that was into him. There were girls in high school that were oblivious of his sexuality, but he obviously never reciprocated their feelings. But now there was another hot guy in his town. And he liked guys.

 

Armitage shoved the collar of his work shirt over his face and squealed. How the hell did that guy know? Was he that obvious? He couldn’t even come out to his dad, much less an absolute stranger. But did everyone else around him seem to know?

 

He took out his phone and entered Kylo’s number, immediately going to text him. But his fingers stopped as soon as he realized he had to actually send a text.  _ What the hell am I going to say? _

 

Armitage started typing.

 

**Hey. It’s Armitage. This is Kylo, right?**

 

He started panicking before he pressed send. What if he gave him the wrong number? What if he was just doing this as some prank? Armitage shook his head and pushed send before his anxiety could stop him. 

 

He waited patiently for a response, finishing off his fries in the time it took for Kylo to text back. 

 

**nah, its the fuckin tooth fairy. lmao**

 

Armitage cringed at Kylo’s lack of grammar, but returned his sarcasm.

 

**Ever heard of the shift key? It’s this magical thing that makes your letters look bigger. It’s pretty great.**

 

Armitage sent that one with more fervor than the other, somewhat proud of his sarcastic reply. 

 

**fuckin sick burn, bro. bring me some aloe for that shit.**

 

Armitage didn’t know how to reply, so he lied to get out of responding. 

 

**I need to get back to work.**

 

Kylo responded immediately.

 

**dont have too much fun.**

 

Armitage exited the messenger app and switched back to Netflix. No one else entered the store for the rest of the night, and time passed by quickly as Armitage was devoured by his TV show. It was only ten ‘til closing when Armitage realized how late it had gotten. The outside was pitch black, and the snow had decided to build up slightly, but not enough to cause problems. Well, snow in itself was an issue, but that's besides the point.

Armitage slipped on a jacket and gloves and packed up his stuff for the night, finally ready to head home. He flicked off the lightswitch and locked the door, finalizing the end of the work day. Luckily for Armitage, his coworker Cardinal was going to be working tomorrow’s morning shift, so he was able to sleep in for the first time in forever. He walked out to his car, the cool autumn air nipping at his bare face. He took out his car keys and jammed them into the lock, opening it up. The cold seeped into his thin cotton gloves and bit at his fingertips as he opened the metal door to his car. He then put the key into the ignition, feeling the ‘99 Oldsmobile hum to life. Cold air blasted from the vents as it struggled to heat Armitage up.

 

“You’re alright, Niner.” Armitage patted the dashboard of the old, run down car. He moved the gear shift into drive, and the sedan dragged itself forward, carrying him less-than-reliably home. 

 

When Armitage pulled into his trailer park, he knew something was different. But it took him a second to realize exactly what had changed. It wasn’t the snow. No, it was the new RV parked a few spots down from Armitage, with a dark-haired man sitting on the steps with a cigarette in between his lips. He traded his cargo shorts for a pair of black sweatpants, but it was obviously Kylo. Armitage parked his car in his driveway, but couldn’t turn his eyes away from Kylo. His heart pounded in his chest, shocked by his new neighbor. Why didn’t he put it together before? Those spaces in the trailer park were empty forever, and there were plenty of other trailer parks in the area. Why did it have to be his?

 

Armitage turned pulled his key out of the ignition and exited his car, purposefully averting his eyes from his new neighbor when he walked up to his own door. 

 

“Well, how do you do, neighborino?” Kylo called confidently, a puff of smoke exiting his mouth as he did so.

 

“Fine. It’s cold as balls, though.”

 

“Yeah. Is it always like this?” Kylo inhaled more cigarette smoke into his lungs.

 

“Only in the winter. Speaking of, I need to get to bed. Like, for real. Later, Kylo.”

 

“See ya, Armie.”

 

Armitage cringed at the nickname. It felt odd, having this person he just met give him a nickname like that. His own father only called him Armitage. 

 

“Don’t call me that, Kylo.”

 

Kylo looked perplexed for a brief moment, then smirked. “Sorry, Armie.”

Before Armitage could snap back at him, Kylo rushed into his R.V. Armitage rolled his eyes and went into his own trailer, trying to brush off his new neighbor’s ignorance.

**Author's Note:**

> WOWIE ZOWIE i love the small town aesthetic. and kylux. so, here's both. idk if this is too niche but im personally pretty hype to write for this!! thanks so much for reading the first chapter!!


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